Leaders' Personal AI Use Surges, Workplace Adoption Lags
Business leaders are increasingly integrating artificial intelligence into their personal lives, a trend that is significantly bolstering their confidence in its applications within the workplace. This insight comes from recent research conducted by tech services firm Endava, which surveyed 500 employees at management level or higher across UK companies.
A striking finding from the research is the burgeoning trust in AI for personal matters. Two-thirds of business leaders indicated a willingness to let an entirely automated AI make lifestyle decisions for them, ranging from holiday planning to other significant choices. The same proportion also views access to AI as fundamental to society as basic utilities like electricity and water.
Matt Cloke, CTO at Endava, commented on this trend: “The fact that 66 percent of business leaders say they use it in their private life is a positive sign. You get to see what the benefits are. I think it also helps business leaders understand the risks of using technology.”
However, the research revealed a paradox: while leaders are comfortable with AI making personal decisions, their confidence wanes when it comes to implementing the right AI tools at work. Despite AI adoption being ranked as the number one business strategy—ahead of introducing other technologies or upskilling the workforce—nearly half of respondents believe their organizations are not investing in the most effective AI technologies to drive meaningful business value.
Despite these reservations, half of all C-suite executives anticipate their companies will achieve an advanced stage of AI transformation within the next two years. This optimism, however, does not extend uniformly across organizational hierarchies. Only a third of middle management and a mere 29 percent of junior management share this outlook. This disparity is likely driven by fear, as junior staff often worry that AI will replace their jobs rather than enhance them.
To bridge this gap, Cloke emphasizes the importance of senior executives actively demonstrating AI’s benefits. “If your C-suite is committed to deploying an AI strategy, they have to model the behavior that they expect to see within their organization,” he states, advocating that leaders should not expect others to use tools they are unwilling to use themselves.
Endava, as an early adopter of ChatGPT Enterprise and an OpenAI partner, exemplified this approach by creating a cohort of trained “AI champions” within their company. These champions guided colleagues on AI usage, identified processes that could be accelerated, and recommended specific AI tools or custom GPTs. This initiative also organically fostered a group of internal “AI heroes” who, without explicit instruction, discovered innovative ways to apply the technology, further driving acceptance and showcasing possibilities.
The UK is positioned as a leader in AI adoption, consistently ranking high in AI readiness. While most widely used in financial services like wealth management and payments, AI is steadily permeating all economic sectors. The UK government projects that fully embracing AI could boost productivity by as much as 1.5 percentage points annually, contributing an additional £47 billion per year over the next decade.
However, concerns loom regarding the UK’s infrastructure capacity to support the escalating demands of AI. The International Energy Agency predicts that data center energy demands will double by 2030, prompting worries about the UK’s ability to cope. Cloke highlights the importance of the UK having access to independent data centers and large language models. In response, the government has announced plans for dedicated AI Growth Zones to expedite the planning process for AI infrastructure, with most decision-makers believing the government is doing its utmost to advance AI in the UK. Six out of ten respondents even believe the UK leads the world in AI.
Regarding governance and regulation, survey respondents expressed strong confidence and a clear preference for a structured approach. Virtually all consider it crucial to establish an independent global organization or governing body to create common AI policies, with over nine in ten wanting the UK government to take the lead. Cloke clarifies that such a body would likely focus on safeguards and controls around AI infrastructure, similar to nuclear power regulation, rather than dictating the design of AI technologies themselves. He referenced the UN’s “Governing AI for Humanity” framework, which proposes an international scientific panel, a standards exchange, capacity development, and a global fund for AI.
From a business perspective, the return on investment (ROI) from AI implementations is largely positive. Nearly seven in ten respondents reported increased profits due to AI, with only 12 percent disagreeing. Yet, a pervasive concern is the risk of losing market share if organizations fail to make significant AI progress, with most fearing this within two years, and almost a quarter within just one year.
Cloke advises against getting stuck in an endless cycle of pilot projects, emphasizing the need for decisive action. He notes that the performance of large language models is effectively doubling every seven months, meaning delays in adoption put organizations further behind their AI-enabled peers. Beyond mere efficiency improvements in existing processes, AI’s true value often lies in enabling entirely new capabilities. Cloke cites the example of allowing users to interact with spreadsheets using natural language, a task that previously required specialized skills like pivot tables or database queries. For him, the focus is not just on current efficiencies but on the future possibilities AI unlocks.